Created by the IMA, the IMPACT Awards recognize the achievements of industry leaders across a variety of sectors. The Innovation in Education Award is given to institutions who continually evolve student learning and engagement using technology and innovation. Stanbridge University is the most recent winner of the award and joins previous recipients that include New York University, Chapman University, and Pepperdine University. Additional 2018 IMPACT award recipients include St. Joseph Health, Barnes and Noble Education, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Oracle.

“We get submissions from all over the world for our annual IMPACT Awards,” stated Sinan Kanatsiz, Chairman and Founder of IMA. “Our judging criteria are based on the quality, innovation, and sustainability of the brands and individuals we present for awards. Stanbridge University is recognized for their leadership in education and forward thinking.”

“We are pleased to be honored by the IMA and recognized alongside other leaders in innovation,” stated Mr. Yasith Weerasuriya, President of Stanbridge University. “Experiential, hands-on learning with the latest technology is woven into the fabric of our teaching philosophy; millennial & Gen Z students have come of age in the iPhone era and thrive in a technology-enabled environment.”

Innovative approaches to education at Stanbridge University include the commissioning of the first synthetic Human Cadaver Lab on the West Coast, building one of the largest Virtual Reality Labs for medical training in the U.S., partnering with Cornell University to build the first high fidelity canine patient simulator in the West Coast, partnering with NASA to study the effects of deep space travel for the human mission to Mars, building of a high fidelity Human Health Simulation Lab and partnering with WAVES (Wounded American Veterans Experience Scuba) to provide U.S. veterans suffering from PTSD with scuba therapy treatment off the coast of California.

Stanbridge has also been recognized for its innovative approach to serving the local and global community. California Campus Compact recently recognized Stanbridge for receiving over 30 service fellowships in a two-year period, breaking the previous record of 4. Stanbridge’s numerous initiatives to address hunger, homelessness, veteran PTSD, and animal welfare along with its Root for Change initiative which aims to plant 10,000 trees by 2020 has allowed graduates to emerge as well-rounded and compassionate healthcare leaders.

The 2018 awards were presented at the IMPACT18 conference held recently in Las Vegas and included conference tracks on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging technologies with representation from Adobe, Amazon, Microsoft, Indi.com, and other leading industry experts.